The CW's twisted thriller 'Cult' premieres Tuesday

It's about a journalist, Jeff Sefton (Matt Davis, "The Vampire Diaries"), who is investigating the possible link between his brother's disappearance and the rabid fans of a hit TV show called "Cult." (Yes, the show and the show-within-the-show are both called "Cult.")

It also stars Robert Knepper (aka "Prison Break's" T-Bag) as the show-within-a-show's cult leader, Alona Tal ("Supernatural") as the former cult member-turned-cop out to get him and Jessica Lucas ("Melrose Place" remake) as a researcher for the fictional show who teams up with Jeff on the case.

All of this sounds intriguing, but I'm also interested for a different reason: I want to see how my memory matches up with it.

See, the CW is one of the few networks that still sends advanced screener copies of its shows, and sometimes those screeners are very advanced. After the upfronts in May, when the networks announce their fall schedules, the CW sends out rough cuts of the new shows it's just announced.

In last year's batch, I was very interested in two -- "Arrow" and "Cult" -- and mildly interested in a third, "Beauty and the Beast." I had them at my house when my friend invited me to hang out, so I said, "I've got some new shows that sound like they could be good."

We watched "Cult" first.

It was the first time, I think, that I've watched a press screener with someone else, and I have to say, it wasn't a great start. Throughout the episode, I kept thinking, "Please get better, or she's never going to let me suggest anything again!"

It's been at least eight months since we watched it, so I don't remember specifics. I do, however, remember a huge sense of disappointment and a general terribleness about the show.

Since it has been so long, though, maybe I'm misremembering. Or maybe they've had time to tweak it. That happens to a lot of shows, especially ones that debut midseason. I haven't gotten a new copy, so I don't know.

That's why I'll be tuning in again Tuesday, and watching it with fresh eyes. As I said, the concept is interesting and could be creepy (the new trailer makes it look so), plus Robert Knepper plays evil fabulously, so I'm hoping for the best.

W.Va. alerts: Although it will likely be heavily edited, the horror film "The Collector," starring Webster County native Josh Stewart, makes its TV debut, 9 p.m. Saturday, Syfy. Also on Syfy, Bobby Campo (born in Wheeling but raised in Florida) has a recurring role as Sally's love interest, Max, on "Being Human," 9 p.m. Mondays.